Issues
Enforcing Trade Laws
The inability, and in many cases the unwillingness, of policymakers in Washington to enforce current trade laws has allowed the deck to be stacked against U.S. manufacturers and workers. As a result, U.S. manufacturers have been forced to play by a different set of rules than their competitors. This has contributed to the loss of more than 3.5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000 and the closing of more than 40,000 manufacturing facilities.
Quite literally, U.S. trade laws – including anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws – when enforced, level the playing field and allow individual companies, farms, and even whole industries in America to remain competitive. Some critics argue, however, that these trade laws are shortsighted in this era of globalization and that the end result of these laws are limits on consumer choice and thus higher prices.
Now Congress is considering reauthorizing the President’s authority to negotiate free trade agreements. Further intensifying the discussion is the World Trade Organization’s Doha Development Round, the organization’s agenda associated with lowering trade barriers around the world.
As debate continues, we should not lose sight of the difficulties that U.S. manufacturers and their workers face when trade laws are not enforced. The consequences of illegal trading practices for American manufacturers and workers are severe. For example:
- A recent study completed for AAM found that from 2001-2003, American furniture manufacturers lost $333 million in revenue as a result of wooden bedroom furniture dumped into the U.S. market from China.
- That same study looked at the U.S. steel industry, which as a result of the dumping of hot-rolled steel from Japan, Brazil and Russia, lost more than $2.6 billion in revenue during the three year period 1996-1998.
When other countries aren’t forced to play by the same rules as U.S. manufacturers, the results are not only lost revenues, but also lost jobs and a loss of economic security for American workers, their families, and their communities.
The reality is that enforcing the law works. Imposing clear and direct penalties on those who cheat or break the law is vital to ensuring that there is a level playing field around the globe. The rules of international trade are just that – rules, not suggestions. The time is long overdue for the U.S. to enforce its trade laws and hold our trading partners accountable for their unfair trading practices. It’s time to stand up for American workers and American manufacturers. Americans should expect nothing less.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Enforcing the Rules (2007)
Reports
Enforcing the Rules
Strong Trade Laws as the Foundation of a Sound American Trade Policy
Release: May 2007
Costly Trade with China
A report issued by the Economic Policy Institute
